I'm Such A Memorable Guy!

(1/28/15) I pulled up to a stop light this morning on my way to work and this lady pulled up next to me and signals for me to roll down my window. I'm thinking she's going to tell me that something is wrong with my car, but instead she asked if I remembered her.

I look confused because the entire ordeal is extremely random.  I check to see if the light is still red and then I return my gaze towards her with a look of confusion.  She looked familiar, but I had no idea who she could be.  A former coworker?  A college classmate?  Before I could answer, she said, "I met you in the elevator at the Doubletree in Memphis."

I let out an "ohhhhhhhhhh!"  I did remember her from the hotel.  I'd met her on the elevator.

But, wait.  I took that trip back in mid-November.  Still amazed at her recall abilities, I asked how she was doing.  She told me that she was on her way to work.  She asked me if I'd been back to Memphis and I told her that I had not.  The stop light turned green, she told me to have a good day, and then drove off.  Let me back up a bit back to November 2014...

I met this lady on the elevator at a hotel.  I don't even recall how the conversation started, but I'm pretty sure that I started it.  I always talk to people on elevators because I get a kick out of talking to people in awkward moments.  She told me that she was also from Jackson, MS and that she thought I looked familiar.  We didn't know each other, but Jackson isn't all that big, so it's possible that we had mutual friends or something.  Our conversation lasted 30 seconds at best.  About twenty minutes later, I went back to the elevator to go down and get something out of my car and I ran into her again.  Like me, she was also taking a vacation just for the heck of it.  Just to get away from home.  We chatted for less than a minute on the elevator ride down and as we exited the hotel I told her to enjoy her stay and that was the last I saw of her.  At least until I passed her on a frontage road on my way to work.

I'm a talker.  I will talk to someone just because we're in the same area.  But what could I have possibly said to make this woman remember me?  90 seconds of total talk time and you can recognize me passing you on a frontage road two months later?  Through my slightly tinted windows?  I'm just not buying that.  At some point during that weekend in Memphis, she had to have seen me get into my car.  Maybe she recognized the Univ. of Southern Mississippi tag that used to be on the front of my car because I just don't see how she could have spotted me the way she did.

I guess I'll never know unless she sees me again some where.  Dag, I'm such a memorable guy.  I don't know if that's good or bad.

One Smile Can Change Your Day

I was at a Kroger grocery store last Sunday after church and I walked past a lady. Early-to-mid 40's, slim, very attractive features, wearing leopard printed heels with a knee-length skirt and matching animal print shawl/shoulder wrap over a white shirt.  We made eye contact as she moved her shopping cart out of my path.  By reflex, I said "good morning," but you couldn't honestly tell if I meant it or not.  It was just a greeting. I'd just found out a church member of only 49 years old had died of cancer just 30 minutes prior.  I'd also just heard that one of the ESPN personalities who I'd watch since the early 90's had passed away of cancer at 49 years old as well.  So, my mood was a bit somber being that I've lost loved ones to cancer as well.  To top it off, I was trying to make a mental list of what I needed from the grocery store.  I thought that all of that justified my dry "hello."  After all, the only requirement is to be cordial, right?

Well, she replied with a very enthusiastic "Good morning! How are you?" in return.

I never broke stride and dryly replied with an "I'm fine. Thanks."

I walked around the corner to the next aisle and I thought about it for a second. In a world where people only think "self," here was someone who was energetic in her greeting and I didn't reciprocate. How often does that happen in our lives when people ask you, "how are you?" and they truly don't care?  The last time you acknowledged someone with a "hello" or a "good morning," did you mean it?

This lady definitely meant "good morning" to me and I wasn't going to allow that to be in vain.  I turned my shopping cart around and went back around the corner. To my surprise, I was met with the same smile she'd given me before as if my dry response from earlier never happened. That says a lot about a person when they treat you respectfully despite how you may have treated them.  I said to her,"Hello, again.  I want to apologize for earlier. You were being very enthusiastic in speaking to me and I was in Lala Land. So, I needed to come back and apologize for that and give you a big smile and greeting. Good morning! How are you?"

She smiled and said, "I'm great and I'm relieved that there are still some good people in the world.  You didn't have to do that."

"Yes.  I did," I replied.

I told her to have a wonderful day and I walked off. Both of us left the conversation with smiles.

I ran into her two more times in the store and outside of the store as well.  Each time she would flash a big smile as she strolled by.  As I got outside and started loading my groceries in my car, I noticed that she was only two parking spots down from me loading her groceries.  By the time she finished I had walked over and offered to return her shopping cart to the store for her.  She smiled and said, "why, thank you!"

I actually felt like I should have been thanking her.  She re-opened my eyes on something I preach to others: a positive attitude is infectious.  It's amazing how we can take the little things for granted, but it's the little things, and only the little things, that determine what kind of people that we are.